146th Bergedorf Round Table

“The Role of the Federal Armed Forces in German Foreign and Security Policy“

Richard von Weizsäcker

Berlin, 28 - 30 May 2010

The role of the Federal Armed Forces in German foreign and security policy changed after the end of the Cold War. Since 1992 German soldiers have participated in numerous international operations ranging from small missions such as Cambodia and East Timor to the larger ones on the Balkans or in Afghanistan.

What is the political and military outcome of these missions, and what lessons can be learnt from them? Does the “comprehensive approach” provide Germany with a viable intellectual basis for future foreign missions of the German Federal Armed Forces? What is the significance of the German Federal Armed Forces in the context of German foreign and security policy?

At the 146th Bergedorf Round Table in Berlin politicians, government representatives and experts from Germany and selected allied states and representatives from NATO and the EU took stock of the military missions of united Germany and defined options for the future role of the armed forces in German foreign and security policy.